For people without stable housing who are living with challenges such as mental illnesses, chronic health conditions and substance use disorders, navigating a complex network of service providers across a city can be a major hurdle to getting help.
At Hobson Place, a permanent supportive housing community in Seattle, help is literally next door.
The project, completed in 2022, is the first of Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC)’s 16 supportive housing communities to integrate affordable housing with a comprehensive healthcare clinic and other support services.
For decades, DESC has served people who have experienced long-term homelessness, often have severe medical and behavioral health needs and aren’t able to access traditional healthcare settings or housing.
“Co-locating healthcare services and supportive housing provides this full web of support around people who really need it the most and who benefit the most from having all the pieces in one place,” said Nicole Macri, DESC’s Deputy Director for Strategy.
In collaboration with Harborview Medical Center, the clinic serves residents at the 177-unit Hobson Place and community members who are unhoused and face barriers to accessing healthcare.
DESC knew financing such a complex project would be a challenge.
“Creating a healthcare clinic is expensive for any provider, but when you're committed to serving people with extremely low incomes, people who are unhoused, people who don't fit the traditional model of receiving healthcare, we knew that we were going to need a strong team to make this happen,” Macri said.
JPMorgan Chase Community Development Banking created a plan to help bring Hobson Place to life with three types of financing:
“Having Hobson Place here is critical to help support the needs of the community’s unhoused residents and the community overall,” said Vince Toye, Head of Community Development Banking for JPMorgan Chase. “Projects like this are very important to us because we think about every aspect of the community, all the folks who live there, whether they bank with us or not.”
Hobson Place’s clinic offers residents and community members voluntary services including:
“I like to know that we have doctors and nurses on hand for us if we need them at any given time,” said Stephanie, a resident of Hobson Place since 2021.
Stephanie lived at a shelter before moving to Hobson Place, but now has a mental health case manager, therapeutic counselor and a community.
“We’re all close here, and feel like one family,” she said.
177
Supportive housing apartments at Hobson Place
8,200
Patients Hobson Place’s clinic will serve each year
24,000
Patient visits annually
Cricket McCleary, who manages Harborview Medical Center’s downtown Seattle primary care clinics, said she’s already seen Hobson Place’s approach help patients improve their health.
“I think this model is going to be the way of the future for caring for some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she said. “Our healthcare system can be difficult for just about anybody to navigate, especially when they’re sick or vulnerable.”
At DESC, a resident’s doctor can work side by side with their mental health case manager, substance use counselor and employment specialist. When those providers work in silos, it can be difficult to coordinate care and make sure people get the help they need, said Drew Duplantis, Hobson Place’s clinic manager.
“We get better outcomes for folks when they’re able to go to one place and get a lot of their needs met,” he said.
Seattle needs more affordable and supportive housing. On any given night in surrounding King County, more than 16,000 people are estimated to experience homelessness, according to a 2024 Point-in-Time count.
DESC already has additional developments in the works.
“The need is still there in the community,” Duplantis said. “Hopefully, we can show that this is working for our patients, it's bettering the community, and we can start doing more like this in the future.”
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